-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Not so long ago , Germany was vilified for its slow economic growth , high unemployment rates , and record budget deficits . As late as 2004 , The Economist called it the `` sick man of Europe . ''

Today , Germany is the world 's fourth largest economy , and the most important market in the European Union . Its 5.3 % unemployment rate is the second lowest in the EU . Germany exports more merchandise than any other country aside from China , and its share of total world trade is larger than that of the U.S. Not bad for a nation of 81 million citizens that 's not even among the world 's 15 most populated worldwide .

The roots of Germany 's 21st century economic success date back to the Industrial Revolution , when Germans were early adopters of rail transportation and coal production . But the country 's current rise to status of economic superstar began on a cold autumn day , exactly 25 years ago .

Fall of the wall

On November 9 , 1989 , a group of excited Berliners used mauls , chisels , hammers and fists to smash down the wall that divided the West and East part of the city . The fall of the Berlin Wall was a landmark moment , which intensified a process that fully materialized two years later with the collapse of the Soviet Union .

What West Germans found when they entered East Germany was a society marked by high unemployment rate , low productivity and a lot of poverty . They also found a highly skilled workforce that was comparatively cheap , and new markets with an appetite for products . They found opportunities -- not only in the eastern part of their reunified nation , but also in many other former Soviet-bloc countries , like the Czech Republic , Romania and Slovakia .

`` Part of the success story of the German multinationals was their capacity to use the opportunities that arose -- first with reunification , and secondly with the expansion of the EU , '' said Fredrik Erixon , director of the European Centre for International Political Economy , a Brussels-based think tank .

`` German companies became increasingly skilled at understanding foreign markets and leaning towards foreign markets . Germany has done that in a way which I 'd say is more efficient than what you see in the United Kingdom or France , which are the other two big economies that traditionally have had an outward-oriented vision . ''

Ahead of the times

By the end of the 1990s , businesses from Germany played key roles in countries transitioning to a market economy , according to Erixon . German manufacturers were outsourcing parts of their supply chain to Eastern Europe , and German financial firms provided services to millions of people who were just discovering capitalism .

It did n't end on the eastern edge of Europe . Germany turned into one of the world 's largest exporters by going even further east to the emerging Asian markets , especially China and India , according to Irwin Collier , professor of economics at Free University Berlin .

`` You have these two huge blocks , huge economies that were starving for investment goods and it just so happens that is where Germany had its comparative advantage -- in the production of investment goods , '' Collier said . `` The high Chinese growth rates meant there was enormous demand for German goods . ''

The goods Collier referred to are mainly vehicles , machinery , pharmaceuticals and electronics . German car manufacturers like BMW , Mercedes and Volkswagen established a particularly strong presence in the Chinese market . Companies like Siemens , BASF -LRB- chemicals -RRB- , Deutsche Bank -LRB- one Europe 's largest banks -RRB- , and Allianz -LRB- insurance -RRB- also became leading global corporations .

Promoting skills

In addition , thousands of medium-sized companies , often family owned , have been successful internationally and particularly in Asia , according to Anke Hassel , professor of public policy at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin . Hassel said one of the keys to Germany 's manufacturing success is the country 's unique apprenticeship scheme , in which school leavers spend two to three years training with companies .

`` The apprenticeship scheme is very important in particular for manufacturing companies because they train people at mid-level skills in a very specific way , '' said Hassel . `` They give them industry and firm-specific skills . ''

Hassel explained that having relatively highly-skilled workers allows companies to be more flexible with their production process , and continuously improve . But it 's not all rosy . According to Hassel , Germany 's dependence on exports make it very vulnerable .

During the 2008-09 financial crisis , the loss of Gross Domestic Product -LRB- GDP -RRB- Germany experienced was large compare to other countries , and even today fluctuations in the world economy are immediately felt in the German economy . And fluctuations will always happen .

Currently , as market demand in China and other emerging markets is slowing down , Germany 's challenge is to rebalance its economy away from an enormously heavy dependence on exports . It needs to increase domestic consumption , which has been relatively weak for decades , otherwise the economic growth it has experienced will not be sustained .

In the quarter of a century that has passed since the Berliners tore down that wall , Germany has , no doubt , become an economic superpower . But as Germans know better than anyone , economic realities can change very quickly .

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Today , Germany is the world 's fourth largest economy with a low unemployment rate

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The 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall highlights economic success

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Collapse of East and West has meant massive growth for Germany in various industries